What Scares You?

I have a pretty decent local Starbucks practically right across the street from my subdivision, close enough that if I did choose to walk there, I'd probably make it within 15 minutes.  I actually like my local Starbucks and crew, although probably like everywhere the crew does seem to change more often than I'd like.  For the most part, though, when I do go in there, I recognize at least 70% of the people working there; unfortunately, they don't seem to ever recognize me but I try not to hold that against them.

Now, I'm a self admitted coffee snob;  well, some might say "you could just stop at 'snob'".  Okay, yes, I completely admit it - I'm a very critical, particular kind of guy and I always have been.  I enjoy critiquing things, picking them apart, seeing what they're made of, and especially understanding how they work and what makes them special.  What do you think I spend so much time writing after all?  Exactly.

So, then, why the heck am I at a Starbucks?  Well, being snobby and all doesn't mean that I won't go somewhere that's not the absolute best.  Actually, I like Starbucks but it depends upon what I'm ordering.  Regular coffee?  Almost never; too much heartburn.  Lattes?  Pretty good, but they also give me, um, bad reactions.  I'm mainly a Flat White kind of guy in Starbucks land and the main reason I go there is that it's absolutely the closest coffee to my house, and I don't always have time to venture further.  All things considered, though, I have respect for Starbucks, and I actually give them credit for raising the bar on what coffee was and could be.  Thinking back to life pre Starbucks, we were buying coffee at McDonalds or maybe the gas station, and my stomach and intestines ache just thinking about it (shudder).

Back to today at Starbucks (sorry, that was a minor tangent...well, I'm picky about tangents as well)...  After ordering my drink, I patiently waited like any good patron.  It was then that I noticed a small white erase board with the following thing written on it:  "Do what scares you and you'll be... HAPPY"

Now, upon reading this, I literally chuckled out loud.  I mean, I got what they were trying to say but I was incredibly tempted to just walk up to the board, casually and nonchalantly erase the word "happy", and then replace it with "FRIGHTENED".  That seemed to make more sense to me.

Yeah, sure, there's the old adage of hitting things that scare you head on so that you can conquer them, move on from them, and so on.  You know, the old "jump in the dive end" idea.  But, "do what scares you and you'll be happy?"  Um...yeah, that's a bit of a head scratcher.  That's like telling a person deathly afraid of heights to climb the Empire State Building and that they'll definitely start laughing from joy.  Something tells me that's just not going to be the case.

Still, I've got to give the crew some credit; they are thinking, at least, and trying to spread a positive message of sorts.  Now, maybe they're thinking and/or English grammar skills are a bit lacking but...  Maybe tomorrow they should write:  "Write and say what you mean and then other people will UNDERSTAND"??  Hmm.  Possibly, but then again, that definitely seems to be a lost art.

Mohs is Better than Moe's

Hah!  Do you remember that old slogan?  It's actually "Bonz are better than bones", some dog treat made originally in the 80's.  The advertising campaign was so prominent that I've never forgotten it and yet I haven't had a dog since childhood.

Ah, Mohs...  Yes, procedure #5 occurred this past Wednesday and I'm still recovering.  This was another removal from the front of my head/scalp, not far from the one I had done a few weeks ago.  I've really gotten into the swing of Mohs, which is of course a bit sad and pathetic to say.  I guess as long as you're not removing a significant part of my body and hoping it grows back, it's not the worst thing in the world.

Now, the bad part about scalp Moh's removals is just how tight your skin is afterward.  It's kind of like you get Mohs AND a face lift at the same exact time.  Then, after the procedure, you find you can't do simple things like smile, look surprised, and so on, at least not without feeling a pretty bad jolt of pain and mild ripping feeling.

This time around the numbing needles weren't too bad but there was one place that just wouldn't really fully numb.  When they did the cauterizing, I definitely felt my skin/head on fire.  Wow.  Also, the closing was fairly rough since apparently I was bleeding much more than the doctor was used to.  She even asked, "Are you taking Ibuprofen?"  Nope.  "Are you really nervous?"  Strangely, nope, although I'm not sure why that would make me bleed more.  I couldn't really account for the excessive bleeding at all but I was unusually calm.  Once the closing started, though, I could feel the needle in that magic area that wouldn't numb and somehow managed not to freak out.

I removed the big bulky pressure bandage today and cleaned the area.  I was expecting heavy blood residue but it wasn't too bad.  Again, this seems to be becoming old hat for me at this point and I fully know the drill:  remove the bandage, clean the area, Q-tip on some ointment, rebandage, and so on.  I could probably start doing Moh's procedures as a side hustle (now, that's a scary thought).  Now, if only I could wiggle my eyebrows again (sigh).

Branch Me!

Decisions have been made!  May the people rejoice!  Your prayers have been answered!!!  Um, yeah, well, sort of but not really...

This blog is BRANCHING!  In fact, it's reverting back immediately to what it more or less used to be...a funny story and opinion blog, and nothing more.  For anyone wanting to follow my recording diary, there is now a new active blog called "Supernova Hodgepodge" that you can find at:  https://supernovahodgepodge.blogspot.com/   Please mark it and become a follower!  Already active is the very long winded story of "Theories for the Opsimath", something I've been meaning to write for ages.  Please note that the official look and layout of "Supernova Hodgepodge" is probably not yet done so expect some changes to follow.

Also, recording based posts on this blog will more than likely move to "Supernova Hodgepodge" so don't be shocked if posts suddenly disappear.  No, you're not losing your mind.

Lastly, I fully expect 2 more new blogs to appear in the near future, one about albums that have shaped my life and inspired me (ie, the old Tower Records DID list), and quite possibly a monthly story blog.  I'll certainly let you know when either of those appears and where you can find them.

Thank you for your continued support and hopefully this new branching out will allow people to follow the aspects of my writing that interests them most!

Blood, Mother, Blood!!!

I can't even begin to tell you how sick I am of bleeding on a daily basis.  My god.  The "donor" area for the graft is just so beyond annoying that it's maddening.  I mean, it's been over 2 weeks and yet it looks like it was taken yesterday, and the constant drip, drip, drip...ugh.  I've seen more of my blood in the past month than I have my entire life.  It's amazing I have any left at this point!

I think I also made a decision that I'm just going to stick with Blogger for now and in fact, if I do start additional blogs, I'll just do them here.  I just don't see any reason to switch, really.  I know...if you want people to actually find your blog and read it, etc., you need to go where the crowds are.  Well, I've never been much into that thinking so I doubt at my age that I'm going to change much in that arena.  We'll see if I get my albums list going fairly soon.

Wishing everyone a happy 4th!  Now, please let my ear grow back faster and stop the damn bleeding (geesh)...